Sandy storm cleanup a first for Army Reserve

Role was traditionally held by National Guard

Nov. 18, 2012

Written by

Kirk Moore

@KirkMooreAPP

The cleanup from superstorm Sandy marks the first time Army Reserve units have responded directly to a domestic natural disaster, under the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that makes it easier to bring in reserve forces to help in missions traditionally handled by the statesí National Guard.

The 99th Regional Support Command at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst helped mobilize the 401st, 410th and 431st Quatermaster Teams, which went into New York City, equipped with 600 gallon-per-minute fuel pumps converted to help drain storm water from the cityís flooded neighborhoods. Army Reserve officials said the units with 25 soldiers each are due back to the Joint Base on Saturday for demobilizing and heading back to their home bases in Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina.

Each team was equipped with six high-volume fuel pumps converted to handle water ó a job that included cutting mesh from shopping carts to make strainers so hoses and pumps would not be clogged with trash in the flood waters.

The 99th support command also donated seven crates of school supplies to the Frog Pond School in Little Egg Harbor via Operation Homefront, which supports families of deployed service members. Officials said a number of the commandís soldiers and civilian employees have children in the township school system and saw an opportunity to give back to the community, which was hit hard by the Oct. 29 storm surge in its waterside neighborhoods.